I'm a pushover for an ad like the one shown here. Maybe you
are, too. It teases with the promise of revealing intriguing
information-a technique that the tabloids have made into an
art form. So OK, I'll bite. In response to the headline
"What your scale isn't telling you," what's mine
missing?

The folks at the U.S. branch of Tokyo-based Tanita Corp. in
Arlington Heights, Illinois, have the answer in a hybrid bathroom
scale/body-fat monitor. Their ad for this unit, created by LoSasso
Advertising Inc. in Chicago, gets an A+ for two reasons: One, it
makes you read further into the rest of the ad for the answer (a
big accomplishment for any ad), and two, it triggers the
instantaneous impression that your current bathroom scale is not
good enough.

With
the first two lines of body copy, you're almost ready to
relegate your current scale to doorstop status. The lines read:
"If you're still using an ordinary [model], you're
missing vital information that weight alone can't tell you.
Tanita monitors your weight [and body-fat percentage] for a more
meaningful assessment of your health and fitness."

The ad does an excellent job of detailing the need to know
one's body-fat percentage along with gross weight, thus the
need to own such a crossbreed. I also like the chart in the bottom
left corner that displays the "Healthy Body Fat Range"
for various people. It makes me all the more curious about what
range I'll fall into when I step on my own Tanita. And finally,
I love the golden medallion shown on top of the unit that
self-anoints Tanita "The Body Fat Experts." It's
almost as sanctifying as the Good Housekeeping seal, which
the ad also sports.

Let's think of variations on this approach for other
businesses. Suppose you market new accounting software that's
superior to established brands. You might warn "What other
accounting software companies are afraid to tell you." Or
let's say you operate a small drug company. You could run an ad
that declares "What big drug companies wouldn't dare
admit." Or if you own a pest control company, you might create
an ad that asks "Do those summer mosquitoes have you thinking
the 'V'-word?" (That's "virus," as in
West Nile.) You get the idea. Tease . . . then reveal.

Jerry
Fisher is a freelance advertising copywriter and the author
of Creating Successful Small Business Advertising.